Between a Book and a Hard Place by Denise Swanson Read Free Book Online Page B

ready for him to move in when he arrived home.
    This arrangement mostly worked, but with Dad, Gran, and me living in one another’s pockets, none of us had any degree of privacy. The lack of it had severely curtailed my options regarding any love life I might choose to pursue. But now I wondered if my father might be suffering right along with me.
    The sleigh bells above the front door jingled, and pasting a smile on my face, I welcomed the three elderly women who entered the store.
    After returning my greeting, they took seats at the soda fountain.
    â€œWhat can I get for you ladies?” I gestured to the blackboard. “Today’s special is bourbon pecan ice cream served in mini pie shells.”
    They conferred among themselves, and then they each ordered a glass of water and one special to share. I served them their treat with three spoons, and while they ate, I allowed my gaze to wander around the store.
    When the place was full, excited voices created a cheerful hubbub. I had decided against acoustical tile or cork matting for the ceiling and had kept the original tin tiles. I’d also saved the gorgeous oak hardwood floors by having them sanded, restained, and sealed.
    Regardless of how disheartened or upset I might be, the old-fashioned charm of my shop made me smile. I had always loved this place. After every doctor’s appointment, my mom had brought me to the soda fountain for a hot fudge sundae. Every Sunday Dad had taken me to the dime store to buy a dollar’s worth of candy. And when I turned fifteen, Gran had taken me there to buy my first lipstick.
    Which is why, when the ninety-one-year-old Thornbee twins had put the five-and-dime up for sale, I’d immediately submitted an offer. The sisters’ grandfather had built the shop when Shadow Bend was little more than a stagecoach stop, and the thought of the place being turned into a Rite Aid or a CVS had spurred me into action.
    Although I had doubled the interior space and had installed Wi-Fi, I’d tried to keep the character of the original variety store intact. In doing so, I had attracted several local groups who, in exchange for meeting space—square footage was cheap in Shadow Bend—bought the materials for their projects from me.
    The Stepping Out Book Club, the Quilting Queens, the Knittie Gritties, and the Scrapbooking Scalawags all met at my store. In addition to their supplies, I also sold the members refreshments and any other odds and ends that caught their eye. All of which provided a nice steady source of revenue for my business.
    I heard Mom’s cell chime, and I looked over to where she and Dad were standing. She’d been ignoring her persistently trilling phone ever since she’d arrived at the store. However, this time she glanced at the text message, chewed her bottom lip, then sent a brief answer before turning a brilliant smile back to my father.
    Frowning, I stared at my parents. How would my customers react to their obvious flirtation? Shadow Bend was an old-fashioned kind of town, and adultery didn’t sit well with most folks.
    I had to admit Kern and Yvette made a beautiful couple. Dad was tall and lean, with the erect posture of an army general. He had a few more lines thanbefore he went to prison, but there was still the same twinkle in his bright green eyes that I remembered.
    And time seemed to have stood still for Yvette. I wasn’t at all thrilled that she looked more like my older sister than my mother, or that it was clear Dad was enamored of her. As I watched, he brought her hand to his mouth, and although I couldn’t hear what she said, whatever it was brought a smile to his lips.
    Finally, the ladies finished eating their ice cream pie, divided the bill three ways, and left the store. After washing up the dish, their water glasses, and spoons, I deposited the whopping six dollars—five ninety-five plus a nickel tip—in the till, then stepped over to the old